Jazz Cello - Ray Brown

 

Memories Of You

Jazz Cello

Ray Brown

Cover Photo: Herb Nott

Art Direction: Merle Shore

Verve Records MG V-8390

1960

From the back cover: By the time you have finished listening to this album I hope you have the same reaction that I did. That Ray Brown, one of the truly great bass players of jazz, will be one of its great cello players.

The step from playing bass to cello might appear to be a comparatively easy one, especially for a man who has won more jazz polls than he can remember, yet the transition was not as smooth as you'd expect.

As Ray soon learned, the cello, compared with the bass, was small and consequently difficult to play in tune. Those very drawbacks, however, were momentous ones.

What Ray discovered and what he did about it is a story in itself for his subsequent experiments on the instrument have resulted in a revolutionary development.

Out of his experiments he has devised a new type of cello, especially for jazzmen, so much easier to play that it could likely bring to prominence a new school of jazz cello exponents. Not that the cello hasn't already played its part in jazz; among some of its most notable exponents have been Harry Babasin, Fred Katz, Al Hall, Keter Betts, Sam Jones and, of course, the most distinguished of all, the late Oscar Pettiford.

It was Pettiford, in fact, who first persuaded Ray to try out the cello a few years ago, but he wasn't too interested at the time. "Frankly, it was too much for me," said Ray. "I gave it back and said forget it.' Luckily Keter Betts made Ray change his mind.

"That was in the summer of 1959 when I was playing with the trio (Oscar Peterson's, of course) in Washington," said Ray. "Keeter stopped by to see me and as he was running late he left his cello there, saying he'd pick it up the next day, but before he left he said: 'Why don't you try it out? You might like it.' Well, I did. We had sessions, and I found it was such a nice, easy and clear means of expression that I kept at it all week and played it between shows.

"Yet when we left Washington I didn't think about it again, that is, not until we returned there in 1960 when I went to a party where I borrowed a cello and jammed all night."

From then on, Ray Brown was a cello convert, even though he was still disturbed by some annoying factors that made it difficult to play. It was then he made an important decision.

"When we went on to Chicago, I called Bob Keyworth, vice president of the Kay Bass Company and told him about my ideas: that I would like to see a cello that would be easier to play, easier to tune. It was at his factory that I came up with the idea of a cello which could be made for the express use of jazz musicians who wanted to play the instrument but escape the hazards of the small finger board and difficult tuning.

"What came out of it was this: A cello with a finger board similar to the bass, an instrument that would make a bass player feel at home with it. It would also have bass tuning. Since then they have also come out with a new set of strings to fit the instrument, which incidentally will be called the Ray Brown Jazz Cello."

While there had been drawbacks at first, Ray from the beginning was intrigued by the sound of the instrument, which as you'll hear, is often like that of a deep voiced guitar. As he states: "I think it's a wonderful means of expression because it contains the lower range of a guitar and the higher range of a bass. It allows the musicians greater scope, great facility. There are a lot of things you can do on a cello that are much harder on the bass. It allows you to create elaborately and fast."

With the mechanical problems solved, Ray's next move was to get his jazz cello on record. The ideas were beginning to bubble forth. He contacted Russ Garcia, one of the more prominent arrangers in the country, who wrote arrangements for a ten piece band. "Russ never tried to write over me, which would have been so easy to do," he says. "He let all the attention be focused on the cello. I also like our choice of tunes, well known tunes that have stood the test of time. We chose them deliberately. Since we were introducing what you might call 'a new sound,' I at least wanted tunes that the public knows."

If the tunes are old, then the treatment is new. Of the lot, Ray likes Alice Blue Gown best, bringing to it a lovely lilting pace that makes it brand new. His rather wistful, pensive interpretation of Tangerine is also a delight, almost as delightful as That Old Feeling in which his talents as soloist (in this case, a delicate, sensitive rendering) is brought to the fore. Ray's adeptness on a ballad is also felt on But Beautiful, a truly moving rendition but as Ray says: "The tune, just as it is, carries so much weight." As you might expect, Poor Butterfly flits as lightly and gently as a butterfly.

If your preferences run to a faster tempo, then Rosalie is for you. Note the way Ray drives the tune, especially after the trumpet solo, achieving a wonderful, singing quality as he excitement builds. You can hardly get a tune older than Rock A Bye Your Baby, yet even this is injected with new life, which applies equally to Ain't Misbehavin', emerging here in a refreshing new conception. The tempo is so right! As for Memories Of You, don't be surprised at the strong blues feeling on this one. With his customary frankness, Ray explained why: "I couldn't play the instrument in tune so I had to bend a few notes." If that's the result, let's hope he keeps bending a few more.

Besides arranger-leader Russ Garcia, the lineup on this auspicious date included: Jimmy Rowles, piano; Joe Mondragon, bass; Richard Shanahan, drums; Don Fagerquist, trumpet; Harry Betts, trombone; Jack Cave, French horn; Meredith Flory, William Hood, Bob Cooper, Paul Horn, saxophones.

If I sound more than a little enthusiastic about this album I hope I may be forgiven. The truth of the matter is that Ray Brown (like Oscar Peterson, like Ed Thigpen) is among Toronto's most favored citizens, especially in this city's thriving music world.

Since the opening of their Advanced School of Contemporary Music here, there has been a noticeable surge of interest in jazz, a definitely more serious attitude toward the art, with the promise that some day this city will produce men of their calibre. Who knows, perhaps another Ray Brown, bassist or cellist.

Footnote: If it sounds as though Ray Brown has forsaken the bass, don't be mistaken. "One of the great advantages of playing the cello is that I get a lot more ideas on my bass," he says. – HELEN MCNAMARA, Toronto Telegram

Tangerine

Almost Like Being In Love

That Old Feeling

Ain't Misbehavin'

Alice Blue Gown

Rosalie

But Beautiful

Poor Butterfly

Memories Of You

Rock A Bye Your Baby